The Apple & Its Tree
by DaenerysTargary3n
Summary: Sequel to Una in Perpetuum. Vala and Daniel make a trip to Atlantis with their 15 year old son, Samuel Neil Jackson so that Sam can do an internship there. They stay for a short while so he can settle in but Sam when he wanders off from Rodney manages to make a profound discovery that will change the lives of the Atlantis personnel but he risks his life in doing so.
1. The First Time Off-World

**Author's Note:**

I must once more issue disclaimers that I do not lay claim to any of the characters, places or aspects of plot that the Stargate franchise owns. This is a sequel to "Una in Perpetuum", which you really do have to read to get some of the parts of this story. This work is going to be ten chapters long, so much shorter than the original, but I hope you enjoy this little insight into what I saw as Vala and Daniel's future. I hope you enjoy this story and please do leave me reviews because I do love reading them and I often reply!

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**Chapter I – The First Time Off-World**

"Sam, it's not my fault security clearance takes forever!" Vala yelled at the back seat of the Jeep, "You are a fifteen year old boy! You should be grateful that your dad actually managed to get you access to Cheyenne Mountain at all. Believe me, Uncle Jack and dad had to pull a lot of strings. So, young man, be grateful that you are getting to spend your summer vacation in a different galaxy because your friends don't even have that option! You are a very fortunate boy."

Daniel sat quietly in the driver's seat as he patiently waited for the guards to check out Sam's paperwork and for his wife and son to stop bickering, but he knew from experience that the two of them could go head-to-head for hours, "You two just give it a rest please. If the twins start crying now, I swear, I'm just going to drive back home and you," Daniel turned to glare at Samuel Neil Jackson, "you will spend the summer with your godfather in Washington being bugged to death about fishing and getting acquainted with boring people who have sat behind a desk for their entire life!"

Vala's attention was drawn to the two car seats which were sandwiching their teenager and holding snugly two beautiful five month old twin girls. A contented smile spread across her face as she took in the sight of her two youngest children wide awake but happily gurgling and curiously surveying the car and their family.

"Finally!" Daniel exclaimed as he took back the file on Sam and was ushered through the barricade and permitted to park and proceed to the SGC. He really had worked hard to get the placement his son had wanted for his first summer vacation off-world. He had bugged his parents for months to help him visit Atlantis and stay there for a month and a half to help out with some research Rodney was carrying out and to learn to fight with John and Ronon.

Although initially, they had been wary of letting him go to another galaxy without them, they had established that he could go if they went with him to get him settled in and then he emailed home frequently. They were fortunate that travel between the Pegasus and Milky Way galaxies had become much easier than it used to be when you had to spend three weeks on the Odyssey. Now the McKay-Carter Stargate bridge was up and running and the midway station was permanently secure, inter-galactic travel was a much simpler and less worrying prospect.

As the family of five walked through the familiar grey, concrete halls of Stargate Command, various members of staff greeted the parents of the brood and some even saluted. Sam knew his parents were widely known and respected at work, but he had not expected this. He knew they had to report to the briefing room so that he and his parents could fill out more forms for insurance and nondisclosure and other boring things. But first, they made a few stops at various labs and rooms.

With a soft rap at the door, they all poured into his godmother's lab, "Hi, Sam, how's life treating you?" his dad asked his best friend.

Lieutenant General Samantha o'Neill perked up when she heard the voice that resounded from the doorway, "Daniel! Vala! Oh, and the kids," she cried, taking Amanda from his mom's arms, "how are you all?"

Vala smiled, "We're good. Today's the day that this one," Vala pulled her son, Sam into her arms, "goes to Pegasus for the summer."

Sam smiled at her godson, "Ah, yes, the all-important first mission off-world. Looking forward to it, Sam?"

"Duh!"

"On that note," Sam giggled, going to her desk and pulling a box from one of the drawers, "I got you a little something to take with you out there."

"Sam!" Vala and Daniel chorused loudly.

"Oh, don't make a fuss. It's not a huge thing. In fact, Daniel, you made me think he'd like it, so hush up. Here you go, Sam. Be sure to use it to bug the hell out of Uncle Rodney."

Now Vala and Daniel's interest was piqued and they leaned around Sam to glimpse what he was about to pull out of the box. Daniel had to be careful he didn't drop his daughter, so he was the last one to catch sight of the camcorder that Sam had gifted her namesake.

"Neat!"

They left Sam's lab and made her promise to come to the gate room to see them off and to take the girls. Vala and Daniel had arranged for Sam, Cam and Carolyn to babysit the twins over the couple of days when they would be in the Pegasus galaxy. They were already a bit late for their meeting with General Landry, whose last year it was in command of the SGC before he handed over command to Sam. He had more paperwork for them to sign, but they kept telling themselves that it would be worth it when Sam got to fulfil one of his life's dreams.

Actually, signing Landry's documents took less time than they anticipated and they made their way down to the gate room soon. On the walk down, Vala was beginning to change her mind about going as she clutched her daughter, who was – for once – being quiet and not crying, to her chest. It would be the first time she had spent any length of time away from her daughters and she was hesitant about leaving them with other people, even people who were like family to her.

When they reached the gate room, Vala inhaled in awe as she remembered the times when she used to step through 'the old orifice' (as Jack called it to everyone's disgust) on an almost daily basis. She remembered the last time she walked through it and flinched.

Daniel watched his wife as she remembered her old jaunts through the Stargate as a member of SG-1 and knew she would eventually arrive at the painful memory of her final trip through the Stargate and he gripped her hand firmly to comfort her, "I love you, honey."

Vala smiled warmly, "I know and I love you too."

Sam watched his parents with a curiosity he had inherited from his mother and tried to make sense of what he had just witnessed, as something had evidently upset his mom and he could not figure out what it was, though he had enough tact – inherited from his dad – not to ask questions at that particular moment.

"Have a nice trip, folks," Hank said from the control room with a smile, "and good luck, Sam."

Vala handed her baby girl over to Carolyn with a sad smile, "I'll see you soon, baby. You be good for Auntie Carolyn and Uncle Cam, do you understand, Amanda Claire Jackson?"

Carolyn knew how much the mere thought of separation plagued her friend, "Vala, don't worry, you're only going to be gone a couple of days, then you'll see them again. They'll be fine with us. You know what Cam's like with them," she winked as they both recalled Cameron playing with the twins, only hours after their birth and that's exactly how long it took for them to have Amanda's godparents, with whom she would be staying, wrapped round their little fingers.

As Daniel watched his wife part with one of the twins, he knew he had to do the same with the other, who was beginning to squirm in his arms sensing the tension, "Ok, sweetheart, your turn to go to Auntie Samantha," they had decided to call her that to avoid confusion with their son, who had expressed concern that one day his siblings would call him 'Auntie Sam' by accident, "no, no, don't cry. It'll be all right, you love Auntie Samantha and Uncle Jack."

Daniel passed over his daughter to Sam and noticed how well she settled once she was comfortably enveloped in Sam's arms. He loved that about Jennifer, that she was so sensitive to everyone else around her. Vala joked that she got that from her father, whereas Amanda was more like her mother and was completely self-obsessed. Daniel knew that Vala was being insincere, as he knew she was not self-obsessed at all, but actually was incredibly selfless but preferred not to be such an open book with her emotions. He knew that bringing up the girls was going to be one hell of a ride, but one he was looking forward to…

He whispered to his daughter, "Goodbye, darling, my beautiful Jennifer Elizabeth Jackson, your mom and I will see you in a couple of days and I know you'll be good for Auntie Samantha because you always are."

He shrugged off the building tsunami of sadness that was threatening to utterly engulf him and pull his son into the manliest of hugs he could, "Right, enough of all this, or you're going to see your old man cry. Let's go," he looked up at the control room, "dial it up guys!"

With that they approached the event horizon and as Sam walked through before his parents, Vala smiled enigmatically at Daniel before taking his hand and turning both of them round so that their back was to the gate and with a wink to her friends, Dr. and Mrs Jackson stepped backwards through the gate.

When they arrived in Atlantis, Vala and Daniel were greeted by raucous applause by their family and friends, whom they hadn't seen since before their twins were born. First to approach the trio were Vala's father, her stepmother and Tomin. Her father opened his arms wide and pulled his grandson into a bear hug until they could just about make out Sam asking for permission to resume breathing.

Despite Vala's formerly terse relationship with her parents, it made Daniel happy to see that their children would have a relationship with one set of grandparents, which was a right sight better than what he had spent his formative years with. He had also grown closer with Vala's parents as time had elapsed, he even considered them to be as close to parents as he was ever going to get.

"Vala, baby, how are you doing? And how are my little granddaughters? God knows, they look so sweet in all those pictures you've been taking and emailing over," Jacek said jollily.

Vala laughed, "They're fine, dad, they're with the Mitchells and Sam. How've you and Adria been?"

"You know, honey, sweet as rain in August, sweet as rain in August."

Vala hugged Tomin, "Hi, Tomin, what's been going on with you? Found that special someone yet?"

Tomin had mentioned in a couple of emails that he had been seeing a couple of people on Atlantis, but he had never been able to find 'the one'. Vala had tried to set him up with a couple of SGC personnel whom she knew were single, but they had not panned out either, but every time she emailed him with news of her family, he was concerned and interested in her life. She knew that it was cruel in some ways, but the other alternative was to exclude him and that felt more severe somehow.

He smiled back at her kindly, "No, not yet, Vala. Still searching, but I'm sure she'll turn up one of these days."

Sam was impatient to find his favourite 'uncle'. He skirted around his mom's relations and after high fiving Ronon he examined the expansive room for his Uncle John. John had been the main reason he had wanted to spend his summer in Atlantis. He found the older man funny and he always had the best stories. John in turn, was incredibly fond of the young Jackson boy and the Jackson girls, but he and Sam had bonded over their passion for cars and sci fi films.

"Hey, Uncle John," Sam hollered up to the control deck, "you ignoring me or something?"

The black haired man in blue BDU's talking to a technician smiled as he walked onto the viewing deck and leaned on the railing, "Well, look who's finally showed his face on another planet. What took you so long, Jackson Junior?"

Sam laughed heartily, "All right, we can't all have been to God knows how many planets and galaxies! At least I still have my youth ahead of me, whereas when you got here, you were already so _old_!"

John shook his head at the kid's boldness in teasing him about his age, but walked casually down the stairs to greet his greatest admirer and his parents, "Hi guys, glad you could make it. Bet the paperwork to get this tyke here was a bitch, huh?"

Daniel groaned, "You have no idea! Just glad we got to come…finally!"

"Yeah, how are the most gorgeous girls on Planet Earth?"

"Well, I'm fine and so is General Carter," Vala piped up cheerily.

John punched her good-heartedly on the shoulder, "We've missed you, Vala. The banter just isn't the same without you."

Ronon cleared his throat, "Well, as cosy as this is…can I go now, John?"

Everyone looked stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter, but John clapped his hand on Sam's back and said, "Yeah, Ronon, you can go. I'll just show you guys to the quarters we've assigned for you," he looked awkwardly at Daniel and Vala, "Guys, I hope you don't mind, but you're quite a bit away from Sam, but I thought it would be a good idea if Sam's suite was closer to mine and Ronon's rooms, just in case and there are no other rooms near ours."

Daniel was surprised, but impressed with his friend's concern, "Thanks, John, we appreciate that. Vala and I don't mind, after all, we're the ones who are only here for a couple of days."

"Right then, Tomin will take you guys up to your rooms and I," John looked sternly down at Sam, "will take this guy to get settled in before Rodney's compulsory tour of the _entire_ city."

Upon hearing Rodney's name, Vala tensed up as she knew she had to see Jennifer before she got settled in. The woman must be dying to see her and retrieve the package which Sam o'Neill had given her to pass on. She wondered why the McKays had not come down to see them, but it occurred to her that Rodney was probably under a mile of research and Jennifer would not want to ruin their happy arrival by asking for news of her children.

Rodney and Jennifer McKay had been forced to make an unspeakably difficult choice when Jennifer fell pregnant seven years ago and then again four years ago. The SGC were not going to allow her to have her children in Atlantis, especially as the galaxy was still at risk then, but Jennifer had been heading critical and vital research that had saved the lives of millions of people in the Pegasus galaxy, so many – in fact – that there were numerous settlements across the galaxy called Keller. She and Rodney had chosen to send their children to live on Earth without their parents and it's what had prompted Rodney to throw himself into trying to construct ZPM's. With the constant availability of ZPM's, Rodney and Jennifer got home once every two months to spend a week with their children, but otherwise they existed to receive the emails and videos from the SGC with messages from their sons, John Radek McKay and Ronan Carson McKay. Vala had made sure she had gotten Hank to get the boys to record recent messages for their parents, as they lived with General Landry. She would go to the infirmary and give the tapes to Jennifer before heading up to her and Daniel's temporary quarters.

Vala was actually quite excited to experience the feeling of being off-world once more, with Daniel and this time, her son. She could only imagine how exhilarating the experience must be for Sam, who was so young but knew so much about the world. He had been spoon fed stories about aliens and space travel since he was born and it had nurtured in him a lust for knowledge of the foreign and alien. She felt comforted in the knowledge that she never had to worry that she had any regrets when it came to her son.


	2. Mom & Dad's Adventures

**Author's Note:**

I hope you enjoyed Chapter I enough to carry on reading. There is a line in here that is from "Game of Thrones", a show which I am equally as avid a fan of as the Stargate shows. Wonder if you can spot it? Kudos to anyone that does and puts it in a review! Enjoy reading and reviewing.

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**Chapter II – Mom & Dad's Adventures**

After dinner, Vala and Daniel had told Sam they were going to go and spend some time with the McKays. They had given the medical Dr. McKay some package and they wanted to see how they were after watching it. Ever since the twins' christening, where Jennifer and Rodney McKay were made Little Jennifer's godparents, Sam had gotten closer to the kooky Dr. McKay and Jennifer simply adored him. It had been one of Sam's favourite childhood pastimes to set the two McKays against each other. Rodney McKay was so easy to antagonise, it was hysterical. Any slight of his higher than average intellect sent him into a comical rage, which his wife would frown upon and calmly instruct him to remove whatever was stuck up his ass.

"S'all right, mom, I think I'll just go hang with Uncle John," Sam said gleefully as he bounded from the commissary.

His parents nodded back their reply and watched as their eldest child went to find his hero. Vala wondered if John knew the power he wielded over her boy and how, when Sam got older, the two men might still be as close as they were now. She was relatively close to John Sheppard, especially after they had met when the Ori Supergate had been an issue. He still brought up – from time to time – the story about how she had made Rodney blush at the meeting by asking what the problem would have been with a St. Bernard a Chihuahua getting it on, which ironically, had also endeared her to Dr. McKay, on account of her 'cute ignorance' (according to McKay).

Daniel knew that Sam hero-worshipped Sheppard and he was so relieved that the boy's admiration had not fallen at the doorstep of Rodney McKay, who would have milked it for all it was worth. He and John also got along and he and Vala had almost fought over whether John should be one of the godparents of the twins, but he had thought that Mitchell and Carolyn deserved that honour however he did allow John to choose the middle name of Jennifer. _Elizabeth_…everyone who knew who had picked out that name understood why, for John had never truly come to terms with Elizabeth's sacrifice and he had loved her dearly, though, like Sam and Jack, he could not reveal how he truly cared but unluckily for him, he waited too long and she died. Indeed, rumour had it that John's underlying love for the former commander of Atlantis was the reason for Teyla's departure.

He and Vala started walking to the McKays' suite and all the while were thinking about what hijinks their son and his surrogate uncle were plotting.

John had been readying himself to get some sleep, but true to form, he never made it to his bed, as Sam careered into the room without knocking and settled himself on the sofa and looked expectantly at his idol, who was looking back at him with some annoyance but mostly amusement, "What's up, man?"

"Nothing," Sam shrugged, "just wanted to hang out."

John sniggered, "Is it not your bedtime yet? Shouldn't Vala be telling you a story about one of her and Daniel's many adventures to strange and dangerous planets to battle aliens and whatnot?"

"Now that mom has the twins," Sam recovered from his mistake, "and I'm _way_ too old for bedtime stories, I don't get to hear about what mom and dad did when they were on SG-1. But you know all their stories right, Uncle John? Why don't you tell me?"

John felt uneasy at having walked right into this fix. He wasn't sure how much his friends wanted their kid to know about their life before he was born and their life while he was a toddler, but he knew from experience that he had just aroused a fatal curiosity in the boy…curiosity that would be fatal for him. He could just see it now, his gravestone: _Here lies John Sheppard. A great man, a great leader and a great friend who couldn't keep his trap shut and so he died!_

"Boy, you've put your foot in it now, Sheppard," John muttered to himself.

He watched as the inevitable frown appeared on Sam's face and he saw the question forming on his lips, "Uncle John, why did my mom leave SG-1 when she did? It was right after a mission where something went wrong, wasn't it? Auntie Samantha told me something happened to mom that made her want to leave."

John winced, remembering the arrival of an SG-1 mission report that saddened everyone on Atlantis and changed outgoing mission protocol from that time on. It had happened when Sam was two years old and no one who was close to the Jacksons forgot that year easily. He guessed Daniel and Vala had chosen not to tell Sam until he was older but he didn't want to lie to the boy and he was sure that his friends would not find him culpable of not wanting to deceive their son. He would find out the truth eventually and if John spun him a yarn today, he would not be forgiven by the boy. He decided to tell Sam what had befallen his parents to bring about his mother's lightning-quick withdrawal from SG-1.

He sat down and looked Sam deeply in the grey eyes he inherited from his mother, "What I'm about to tell you, your parents probably won't like that I've told you, Sam, but I don't want to lie to you and I also don't want you to take what I'm about to tell you lightly because it hurt a lot of us deeply, but most especially, your parents."

Sam could only nod with anticipation and slight dread.

"Ok, here goes. When you were two, your parents and the rest of SG-1 had to go off-world to a new world to check it out. They found an agrarian," John frowned, realising that a fifteen year old boy would not know what that meant, "a civilisation of farmers. At least, that's what they thought. It was a front and the real inhabitants of the planet were powerful and controlling slavers who had stolen the 'farmers' from other worlds as children and nurtured until they were grown and could work for them. Your mom and dad found out that the bad guys had tortured their captives, who lived in abject fear of them but mistakenly believed that after forty years of service, they would be returned home. In fact, after forty years, the aliens just killed them because they became bad labourers. This appalled your dad so much – he was the first to discover it – that he immediately made your Uncle Cameron stop the trade talks with them and exposed the situation for what it truly was."

As John took a reprieve from his tale, just before the climactic event, he surveyed his audience and saw that Sam was on the edge of the seat, fully engrossed in the story. John remembered what it felt like to have such childish naïveté, but Atlantis had long since driven any such notion from his heart and mind. Sam had grown up in a world that was much bigger than normal teenagers understood, but he was still shielded from the horrors that came with fighting and surviving in such a large world where the night was dark and full of terrors. He hoped that the little insight into some of the trials and tribulations his mother and father had overcome which he was about to give Sam would not eradicate the boy's inexperienced and untarnished worldview.

"Carry on, Uncle John. What happened next?"

"Well, when the Muscovi – that was the name of the aliens who kidnapped humans as children – realised that they had not tricked us, they began to fight. Now, normally, SG-1 was pretty good in a gunfight, especially your mom. That woman can wield a P90 with frightening talent," John winked at Sam, "but something happened to your mom and it made her collapse. Now, SG-1 were – are still – the best team the SGC has to offer and under your Uncle Cameron, they were at their peak. However, when your mom went down, your father thought she'd taken fire and rushed over to her. The rest of the team gave covering fire so your dad could reach Vala. When he got to her," John hesitated, still unsure of the best way to relate the next scene of the story, "well, your mom was in a bad way, but she hadn't been shot. Your mom said she had been feeling a little off before the mission but had thought nothing about it at the time. During the fighting, your mother started bleeding and that's why everyone else thought she had been hit."

John knew he was skirting around the truth of Vala's final mission, but he had no clue how he was to tell Sam such a sad turn of events, "Sam, they managed to get out. By the time they reached the Stargate, your mom was unconscious and Teal'c was carrying her. They messaged your Aunt Carolyn and your mom was seen the second she passed through the Earth Stargate. Carolyn later saw SG-1 and General Landry at the debriefing and apparently, she was crying. You see, your mom had been pregnant but hadn't known before she went on the mission and in the heat of fire, she lost the baby."

John leaned back in the chair as he gave Sam a moment to process the new information, all the while looking at his face to gauge his emotions.

"My mom was pregnant? So, I could have had another brother or sister…or two?" Sam inquired sombrely.

John nodded, "Yeah, mate. Do you want me to tell you what happened afterwards?"

"Yes."

"Well, your dad was absolutely devastated. He wouldn't talk to anybody, not to any of his friends, not to nobody. Your mom was still unconscious, so she still didn't really know what had happened to her but when she woke up, Carolyn let your dad tell her, so it wouldn't be so hard. Your mom felt so guilty and sad that she said she never wanted to go back to Stargate Command or see any of her team again. She blamed herself for not knowing she was pregnant and for a while, everyone thought she couldn't have any more children," John almost broke down remembering how empty and morose Vala had been during the time after her miscarriage, "but it surprised everyone that the only person who gave her any feeling of solace…was you. She utterly retreated from everyone else, but she grew to love you more. Anyway, this carried on for months, until finally, she opened up to your dad and things got slowly back to normal but she declined any more missions, but everyone still wanted to give her something to do at Stargate Command so she was put on the payroll as a civilian consultant. The first thing she did, which was how your lost little brother or sister will always be remembered was to add an addendum to the Air Force Stargate Program protocol, where she made pregnancy tests before and after missions mandatory. Normally, such a proposal would have had months of deliberation and argument but your mother made sure that it would become regulation with haste so no other female member of an SG team would suffer as she and your dad had. You can see it in print. It's called the Doran-Jackson subsection and it was entirely composed by your mom."

Sam did not know how to process what he had just learned about his parents. He knew that they had been through the wars, but he never imagined what his uncle had told him. He was still curious though, as he had found out why his mom had pulled out of SG-1, but it did not follow suit that his dad left the team, "So, what happened to dad?"

John chuckled lightly at the boy's indomitable inquisitiveness, "Your dad stayed on as a member of SG-1 for years yet. He only stepped down when your mom discovered out of the blue and unexpectedly that she was carrying the twins. He didn't want her to be alone and he knew she was still scared of losing them and needed him around, so he also signed on with the SGC and Atlantis as a consultant and linguistics coach. Do you want to know something though, Sam?"

Sam's interest peaked, "What?"

John patted him on the arm, "I don't think that for one minute your parents have ever regretted stepping down from active duty to spend more time with you and your sisters. Despite all the action and drama they've seen in their time on SG-1, it's obvious to their good friends that they have never been happier."


	3. Sam's Nightmares

**Chapter III – Sam's Nightmares**

_He was watching a scene unfold before him and all he could feel was terror. His mom and dad were dressed in army gear with badges on their arms bearing the SG-1 insignia. They were darting around the war stricken land, taking cover where they could behind pieces of debris, blown up before they arrived on the planet. He could see Teal'c looking frightened, a phenomenon which scared him all the more as his funny, alien uncle never showed fear, never. Auntie Samantha and Uncle Cameron were also there, shouting orders to their teammates, both collaborating in command to ensure that they all made it safely back through the Stargate to Earth._

_Sam was a third party to the action, he could do naught to affect what was fated to happen. He saw the enemy combatants bearing down on SG-1 and had seen enough films and heard enough talk to know that very soon there would be nothing his friends and parents could do to survive the impending offensive. Mitchell was the first to realise this after Sam. He hollered to Sam, "Carter, get to the gate! We gotta get out of here pronto, or we ain't ever getting home!"_

_He watched his aunt nod back and fling herself towards the Stargate and begin to dial home and send her IDC code through the open wormhole. Mitchell gestured wildly for Teal'c to follow Carter through the gate and soon, Teal'c was out of danger. This was when all hell truly broke loose down on the three remaining members of SG-1. He watched, helpless, as Mitchell scrambled over to where Daniel and Vala were pinned down. He knew his uncle. He was well aware that his uncle had lost hope, seeing the barrage of enemy troops, now having cut off their route to the Stargate, and thought that if he and Daniel and Vala were going down, they would be gunned down together._

_With no words uttered, with no words necessary, Sam witnessed three of the people whom he was closest to leave their position and shoot mercilessly at the torrent of soldiers overrunning their position. Sam felt as though he were watching the end of an action movie, where the heroes took a dramatic stand before their foes and would emerge victorious on the other side. Once he had noticed Cam take a hit to the stomach, he knew this was no film and the people were no fictional characters, they were his family and they were dying before his eyes. His dad was nearest to Cameron and tried to reach his limp body, but never reached his destination when he died instantly after being shot in the head. _

_Tears had already formed in Sam's eyes when his Uncle Cam fell to the ground, but when his father died, Sam yelled, "No! Dad, go back to mom! DAD!"_

_Try as he might, Sam could not seem to move and run to his father's side to help, he was glued to the spot and unable to avert the fate that befell his mother. Vala had been stalwartly shooting at the approaching, faceless horde, but all she was doing was stalling them. Sooner or later, they would be upon her and she would go down as her commanding officer and husband had. She knew what she had to do, something that Mitchell or Daniel had not had the opportunity to._

"_Stargate Command, this is Vala. Mitchell and Daniel are down, repeat, Mitchell and Daniel are down. My position is about to be overrun," Vala stopped her transmission as she concentrated on returning fire, "do not send back up. The situation here is beyond saving, no back up necessary," Vala was about to let forth a sob at what her last words would be to her friends back on Earth, "Tell Samuel his parents loved him, Samantha. Take good care of my son. Goodbye."_

_Vala returned her attention to the gunfire which was intensifying. She knew her death would happen in moments, so she crouched down beside the bloody corpse of her husband and took the hand with a wedding band on its ring finger and kissed it before standing tall and proud and yelling, "Come and get me, you bastards!"_

_With that, Sam watched, horrified, as his mother was gunned down and fell in a heap around his father. The wormhole disengaged and the scene suddenly changed._

_Now, Sam was looking up through his own eyes at the faces of his Auntie Samantha and Uncle Jack. They seemed inconsolably sad and were bedecked in full formal USAF wear. Unlike his other vision, Sam was mute. He could not utter a single, intelligible sound, only noises. He realised he was a baby, or a toddler at most. He was in the crib which had been set up in his dad's study for when his mom brought him to Stargate Command for the day to visit his dad and their friends at work. He was sure he had never been left in that crib without either of his parents though. Then it dawned on him: his aunt and uncle were sad, they were wearing full uniform and his Uncle Jack wasn't moaning about it._

"_Jack, we've got to take him home today. We can't keep staying here with him just to avoid what has to happen. He's not going anywhere except home with us," Sam was talking with such sorrowful certainty to her husband that he could only look at her in response, "It was her – and you can assume it would have been Daniel's – last request, so I'm not going to let them down."_

"_I know, Sam, I know," Jack whispered sulkily, "Of course, the baby's going to live with us. I didn't ever argue that point. I'm just saying we should get the house sorted first and," Jack pinched his nose, "we should go to theirs and get his things from there so that it'll be somewhat familiar."_

_Sam was surprised as his namesake looked outraged, "Somewhat familiar? Somewhat familiar?!" she exclaimed irately, "Jack, his parents are both dead! There is nothing that's ever going to be familiar to him ever again…we're not Vala and Daniel. If things were how they were supposed to be, they and Cam would have followed us through the damned Stargate and come home to their son, but it didn't happen that way. They died! So we've got to take him to our home and help him adjust to it and think of it as his home."_

_Jack watched Sam rant and rail at him, receiving each biting remark. He knew she felt guilty for leaving her teammates on that planet while she and Teal'c got home. He was thankful Mitchell had let her go before him, but Daniel and Vala had orphaned a two year old boy and now, it was his and Sam's responsibility to raise the kid who would never really know his workaholic dad or his completely bonkers mom._

_Jack looked at him with true sadness in his eyes and knelt down to pick him up out of the crib. Sam felt just as an orphaned toddler might. He knew something had gone awfully wrong and that his Uncle Jack was holding him and his mom and dad had not come to him recently. He did not know where they had gone and it frightened him as a two year old child. He began to cry, but Jack tried to soothe him._

"_Sam, let's go. We can't be late for the service. People will need to see Samuel there," Jack murmured apologetically, whilst still attempting to console Sam, the wailing child, squirming in his arms._

_Sam nodded and went with her husband and newly adopted son from the room and walked to the gate room which was festooned with black drapery and a carpet had been set up on the ramp, leading up to a podium with the USAF logo emblazoned upon it. Sam, the toddler, noticed the sombre expressions of everyone Jack and Samantha passed in the hall and then everyone who gave them a nod as they entered the huge room carrying Samuel Neil Jackson, a child who would never feel his mother's touch or his father's wit again._

Sam was suddenly roused from his nightmare, only to be surprised that he was not alone in the suite assigned to him. He looked up into familiar grey eyes, framed by a wild mass of ebony hair.

"It's all right, sweetheart, nothing's the matter," Vala murmured gently while she stroked her son's locks.

"Mom?"

Vala smiled, "Sam, honey, what's the matter? You were screaming…"

Sam rubbed the sleep from his eyes and sat up, "I was-" he hesitated, "hang on a second, how did you know I was having a nightmare?"

"We were still in the McKays' suite and we heard you down the hall. We ran in and you were flailing around on your bed, darling," she touched her hand to his cheek, "your dad and I were quite worried."

"Where is dad?" Sam asked, not seeing his father in the room.

"Well, you also woke John, Ronon and a few others up with your shouting, so he's just gone to apologise and tell them everything's under control."

"You were stroking my hair?" Vala nodded, "Just like you used to when I was little."

Vala laughed her beautiful, high laugh, "I used to do it every night. There was no other way you'd fall asleep. Now, I want you to tell me why you're suddenly having nightmares. Did something happen earlier?"

Sam wondered if he should tell his mother what John had told him earlier, but she had a way of getting answers out of him, so he decided he might as well just come clean, "Mom, Uncle John told me – after I asked him – about your last SG-1 mission."

Vala retreated from her son, taking in the news that he knew the truth of what had happened. She hadn't wanted him to learn about it until he was much older, but she knew that her son had inherited her powers of her persuasion and John wouldn't have had a chance in hell to withstand her son's avid curiosity.

"Is that what's got you so riled up? That you're worried about staying here because of what happened to me?" Vala asked fearfully.

Sam was about to shake his head, but he knew that his mom had read him like an open book, "I know Atlantis is safe now, but what if something happens?"

Vala smiled and pulled him back into the safety of her arms, "Nothing will happen to you, sweetheart. You'd be imagining things if you ever thought that your Uncle John would even let a splinter hurt you. That man adores you something terrible and you should be thankful that he does because he'll keep you safe because of it."

Sam smiled at the thought of Uncle John, but he was still concerned for his mother, "Mom, you are okay, aren't you? I mean, nothing else happened because of what happened that time?"

"Nothing else happened. It just occurred to me that if something was to go awry off-world and both your dad and I were injured or killed, you'd be all alone. Well, you'd have Sam and Jack and Cam and Carolyn and John, of course, but when I think of you growing up without your dad and me, it was the only option. Your dad agreed, especially when he remembered his own childhood without your grandparents."

Sam was stunned that his mom had sort of had the same dream that he had just had, "Do you regret leaving SG-1?"

"No, Sam, not at all," an authoritative voice said from the door.

His dad was leaning easily against the doorframe and gazing at his wife and son lovingly and he looked sure as the sun at his boy, so that Sam entirely believed him when he spoke for himself and his wife that neither of them regretted stepping down from SG-1 so they could have a family and keep their family intact.


	4. The Beauty of Atlantis

**Author's Note:**

I just wanted to say thank you to a couple of readers and reviewers who have been following this story and "Una in Perpetuum" and I really do appreciate your reviews as well as your continued interest. So I raise my proverbial glass to kehwie and Tel nok shock in thanks. Hope you all continue reading and please do leave me reviews!

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**Chapter IV – The Beauty of Atlantis**

Sam was following the man leading him around Atlantis like a dog. He had been warned that he would not omit any detail concerning the various rooms and hallways they traversed and his friends and family had been absolutely right. Sam learnt every inane thing that his Uncle Rodney recounted. He was told the stories of how certain doctors had blown something up in this lab and how other doctors – who, of course, were much more stupid than his Uncle Rodney – had ruined one of his experiments in other labs.

It came as a surprise, therefore, when all of a sudden Rodney McKay did something unusual. He shut the hell up and looked...sad. Sam watched intently as his uncle looked wistfully at the plaque that was next to the sliding doors. Sam could have sworn that he saw a single tear fall from his uncle's eyes, but Rodney had always been able to conceal one emotion from those to whom he was close: grief.

Sam peered at the plaque, which he found curious, as he had not observed any other plaques by other doors in the city. It read:

_The Zelenka Laboratory_

_Dr. Radek Zelenka, Atlantis Expedition 2004 – 2013_

_Without him Atlantis would not be safe_

The name Radek was familiar to Sam, but he could not think why until it dawned on him that Rodney and Jennifer McKay's son, John's middle name was Radek. He looked up at his uncle and quietly asked, "Uncle Rodney, are you okay?"

Rodney said and did nothing for a few seconds before looking down fondly at the boy, "Yeah, Sam, I'm fine. This laboratory is just one of the few which I don't go in anymore. Not since Radek died. He was a good friend of mine and unlike the rest of my team here," Rodney smiled, "he was a great scientist and a great man. Not that I could ever tell him that to his face. If it were not for him, Sam, you would not have been able to come to Atlantis because it would have been blown to bits by the Genii. We had trouble with them until the year Radek died. They were ready to blow up Atlantis when Radek came up with a clever anti-bomb agent to reverse the charges and instead of all of us going up in flames, Radek made it so that the Genii fleet were taught a lesson. Not one that they could learn from though. Anyway, Radek, while engineering his 'miracle' managed to get so much of the chemical in his system that he suffered a major cardiac arrest and couldn't be resuscitated. So, this is the laboratory where he worked all the years he was on Atlantis and he died in it too."

Rodney could see that his charge was attempting to comprehend the grief he felt at the loss of his dear friend and colleague, but he knew that until the boy had lost someone to whom he was close and felt the loss personally, no anecdote would convey that pain. Rodney also prayed for his young friend's sake that he never had to undergo that suffering. If he had been born a few years earlier, the chances of him feeling the loss of someone would have been greatly increased, but thanks to Rodney and the other SGC and Atlantis personnel, Earth and both the Milky Way and Pegasus galaxies were much safer.

Rodney ushered Sam away from the door to The Zelenka Laboratory and told him what he'd be doing while he was a guest on Atlantis, "Right, bet you're interested to find out what you're going to be doing while you're staying here," once Sam nodded enthusiastically, Rodney continued with a smile, "Well, in the mornings you're going to take sparring and combat lessons from John or Ronon. They'll handle all that macho-wacho crap. Then in the afternoon, depending on which of us has something you can do, you'll be in my lab or in Jen's lab. When I say 'Jen's lab', I mean the lab, mind you, you're not to go into the infirmary and start trying to help. I mean, if you're hurt, of course, go to the infirmary but otherwise,"

"Uncle Rodney, I get it. The infirmary is out of bounds unless I am hurt." Sam said, making Rodney smile as he sounded exactly as petulant as his mother could when someone patronised her and mistook her girlish charm for dimness.

"All right, fine, you got it. That's basically your day plan for the time you'll be here. Of course, at weekends, you'll have the time off. You're free to spend that time however you like: reading books, writing papers," it suddenly occurred to Rodney that Sam was not a mutant like he had been at fifteen years old, "or play football or whatever you young kids like doing these days. I think that I saw on the schedule that Ronon's taking a puddle jumper to some planet somewhere to go see Teyla, you should ask your mom and dad and see if he'll take you. Apparently, nothing happens on the backwater world Teyla found, so you should be perfectly safe."

"Awesome!" Sam exclaimed, thrilled at the prospect of going to yet another planet on his first trip away from Earth. There's no way that Dennis was going to have a better time than he was this summer, not staying at his dad's condo in Boca Raton. Not that he'd be able to tell Dennis about anything he did over the vacation, but at least he'd know what he did.

"Didn't your parents say they wanted you to do some military stuff and some work that required more intelligence?" Rodney said derisively.

Sam scoffed at his uncle. He knew he liked to poke fun at careers that weren't scientific, but ages ago his dad had told him that both he and Uncle Rodney knew that the military training others had, especially Uncle John, Uncle Jack, Uncle Cam and Auntie Samantha, had saved their asses at many points. Neither Rodney nor Daniel would have been able to father children had their friends not been able to fight as astutely as they could.

He had thought initially that it was odd that his dad agreed with his mom that it would be for the best if John and Ronon taught him to fight a bit over the summer. Normally, his dad adhered fanatically to a non-violence policy, so it shocked him, but he had overheard a conversation between his parents in which his mom asked his dad why he was agreeing with her. He said that he didn't want anyone to ever be able to take advantage of their son and though diplomacy and talking issues out should always be the first and second base, he wanted Sam to be able to do what was right no matter if his opposition was a band of nine feet tall, burly guys.

"Yeah, they said it would be for the best."

As Rodney walked Sam round the rest of the city, he became more and more entranced by what he was seeing. Atlantis was spectacular and everything he had dreamed it was and more. He had heard Uncle John tell him – without any poetry – that Atlantis was the most extraordinary place in three galaxies, but this city before him merited and deserved all the poetry on Earth to fully capture the essence of the place.

He wondered how amazed everyone on the Atlantis Expedition must have been when they first arrived at the lost city of the Ancients when it had been underwater for centuries and was totally dormant. He would have given anything to have been part of that original team with his Uncle John and Rodney. He also knew that finding this magnificent city had not gone without its hardships and losses. Many of the original expedition force had not survived to today and until a few years ago, the Pegasus galaxy had been an extremely perilous place to live in.

"Oh, damn them all to the pits of hell!" Rodney bellowed as he chanced to glance down at his tablet, which his wife joked he sometimes took to bed and cuddled up to instead of her. He jabbed at the tablet incessantly and violently, as if trying to make the piece of technology pay for whatever mistake had been made this time.

"Uncle Rodney, I'm just going to take a look round here, okay?"

The adult did not respond, or even register that he had heard the teenager speak, he only carried on muttering death threats for some poor bugger called Dr. Franklin and swearing at the screen. Sam wandered around the corner and was disappointed that there were no windows or doors he could go through to some more rooms containing more wonderful things. He rounded another corner and now could not hear Rodney McKay uttering curses and threats to fire the entirety of his research team. The silence was welcome as he could concentrate all his attention on exploring the place that would be his home for the next couple of months.

When he found himself in a corridor that had only one door, something about the place sent shivers down his spine, like he felt when his dad had taken the family to England and insisted they spend a couple of hours on Salisbury Plain so they could "inhale the spirits of Stone Henge". He had felt as though he was in a place of great spiritual significance then, but the feeling that he felt coursing through his brain now was the same as he had felt on that day, but magnified a thousand times. Sam remembered the passion and love he saw in his dad that day and he knew that when his mom arrived on Earth (both times) she had stopped him from reaching the Pegasus galaxy, so he couldn't imagine how his dad had ever managed to forgive his mom for keeping him away from Atlantis. Love sure was a powerful thing…

The door looked unused and forgotten, as if nobody had opened it since the time of the city's original inhabitants. Sam felt as if some visceral force was guiding him to the door and urging him to go through it and gave him the knowledge that his entry would not be prevented. Sam thought twice before placing his hand on the pad beside the door, but he had this bizarre feeling that the room was safe enough for him to go in.

Sam walked into the room as the door flew ajar. The room was like a warm invitation and he willingly accepted.

Meanwhile, Rodney had finished his tirade against the idiots whom he was forced to describe as his research team. Upon looking up from his laborious task, he suddenly and painfully realised that his charge had disappeared, "Sam! Sam, where the hell are you?"

Rodney panicked, fully unable to believe he had lost the boy, more importantly he couldn't believe that Sam had thought it prudent to wander off without him in a strange and mysterious and _alien _city! Rodney ran down the corridor and round a few corners but he knew there were no rooms in this quarter of the city. He knew he couldn't continue searching for the lost boy alone. He had to radio the control deck and request assistance.

"This is McKay, I'm in the south-eastern quarter of the city and," he inhaled loudly, knowing that an earful would be in his near future, "I've lost Sam Jackson. He's wandered off. Locate me and send some people down to help…and tell the Jacksons, Dr. McKay and General Sheppard."

Rodney was nervous and he couldn't think where on Earth (or more importantly, on Atlantis!) Sam had moseyed off to without him.


	5. The Book of Na'Tano

**Author's Note:**

This is the halfway point in the story. Yet again I am beginning to suffer the sadness of SG-1 and Atlantis no longer filming and gracing my laptop screen with hilarity and action. I miss John and Vala (my favourite characters!) so much it hurts :(. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter and please do review, even if just to tell me that I need a brain transplant!

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**Chapter V – The Book of Na'Tano**

Slowly walking toward the centre of the room, Sam was falling in love with this strange and wondrous place more and more with each step. The feeling was as if he was learning a new language, like when his dad had taught him ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs two years ago, he had apparently inherited his father's passion for learning new languages and he had felt as though he was experiencing all the wonders of the ancient Egyptian culture in the hours he spent learning their language and as he wandered towards the central console, he felt as though he was privy to every secret and piece of history that the civilisation of Ancients guarded.

The room was a deep shade of blue and it was dimly lit, so the only thing Sam could clearly make out was the console which was emitting an effervescent pinkish light. It was enticing to say the least…Sam could not help but be lured by the magical quality of the light. As he reached the console, he saw that there were several buttons, forming a keypad. However, to one side there was a pad that seemed to be moulded to suit a human hand, so Sam gently rested his hand on the foreign device and was taken aback as once the thermal sensors had detected his life signs, the console whirred and started up.

Sam resisted the urge to scream as he suddenly felt stuck to the device and was unable to retract his hand. There was some alien speech, which he could not understand and a bleeping on the machine accompanied by a severe man's voice appeared to be a countdown. He was panicked and he wished for an instant that he hadn't been bold enough to touch the alien apparatus, but once the initial feeling of fright disappeared, he realised he wasn't in pain, being held where he was, but he was disconcerted with the sense that he was being kept there by some strange force.

The countdown ended. A bright stream of reddish pink light emanated from the top of the console and swirled around before making a beeline for his body. Sam watched aghast as the peculiar light encircled him above his head, like an angel's halo, before it descended, scanning his body until it reached his feet. Once it had completed its task, a hologram formed so he could stare into his own eyes. Then, text in Ancient appeared beside his reflection and Sam was astonished that he was able to read and understand it. It was in English.

"It must know the language I speak," Sam muttered to himself, much like his father did when he discovered some amazing new fact about a strange device. He had to convince himself of the sophistication of the device.

Sam read the text as it explained what it was and instructed him to not be afraid at all and that everything was perfectly safe. Sam instinctively distrusted people and things that told him 'everything's going to be okay' but uncharacteristically, when he was faced with this machine, created by the omnipotent Ancients, he felt quite out of harm's way. When Sam had got to the conclusion of the explanation, he could not believe what he had chanced upon.

The device was called The Book of Na'Tano and Na'Tano had been an Ancient sort of philosopher and scientist, who had believed that the children ought to be in possession of all the facts of the Ancient civilisation. That included their history, their biology, the details of Atlantis and the other settlements and every single mundane detail about them. He believed that in the children, there would be the future of the Ancients' race. Those who governed Atlantis, however, believed this notion of Na'Tano's to be wildly irresponsible and radical, so they forbade him from continuing his work teaching children too much information for their own good. Little did they know that the philosopher had already managed to develop a technology that would permit the user to gain full access to every database and system in the city through this console. Na'Tano also realised during the war with the Wraith that should his creation fall into the wrong hands, meaning that of the Wraith or any adult Ancient, the consequences would be dire, so he altered the activation process of the device so that the only people who could start the machine were children.

Sam's felt his breath be taken away as the magnitude of his own fortuitous discovery dawned on him, "It's essentially a," he huffed, "oh what does dad call them? It's a Babel device. If I want to see the historical archives, then," he thought about the archives and watched in wonder as the device navigated him to the records, "it brings them up and also translates them into English, my first language."

He played about with the device for a bit – he was a teenage boy after all – but then he delved into some of the personnel files which were inputted into the Atlantis mainframe more recently, by the leaders of the Atlantis expedition. He pulled up John Sheppard's file and was intrigued to find out that he had once had an Iratus bug stuck on his neck and that he had nearly turned into a Wraith. He was tempted to check out his uncle's personal records, but he felt that his uncle's secrets should remain so. He didn't want it to seem like he had read the man's diary or anything…

Jensen Kaufmann was on duty on the control deck and when he casually checked the system flow data, he was fascinated by a new surge of energy that was coming from seemingly nowhere. When he zoned in on the energy burst, he could not fathom which room it was stemming from. He was even more perplexed and shocked when the system flagged an unidentifiable point of access of the Atlantis personnel files, specifically that of General John Sheppard.

"Calling the General and all search teams back to the control deck, I might have something here," Jensen ordered over the citywide intercom. He couldn't even begin to think where the Jackson boy had run off to, though he might have done the same thing, had Dr. Rodney McKay tried to give him a tour round the _whole_ city, but it was just possible that the kid had managed to access a terminal…wherever, and now the search teams would be able to find the missing person.

Jensen waited for a short time before General Sheppard and Vala's team returned and then a short time later, the McKays returned with their team and finally Dr. Jackson's team found themselves back at the hub of Atlantis.

"So, Kaufmann," Sheppard asked agitatedly, "what's happened? What have you found?"

Rodney had already moved behind the technician and was surveying the odd mainframe activity before Kaufmann could respond, "Someone has accessed the personnel files, your file, John, from," Rodney's face mirrored the same confusion that Jensen's had borne minutes before, "I don't know where."

"Rodney!" Vala and Daniel exclaimed.

"Okay, okay, give the genius a minute!"

Jennifer smiled as she watched her husband work, "Difficult takes a few seconds and the impossible takes a few minutes, eh Rodney?"

Rodney looked up from his job and winked at his wife with a smile, but once Vala slapped him rather forcefully round the head, he returned to the task at hand.

"So, how long did it take the magnificent Dr. McKay to perform the impossible and lose my son?" Daniel inquired in good spirits, but there was an underlying anger there, which Rodney felt keenly.

"Oh, come on, Jackson. I've said sorry like a hundred times. It's not my fault the kid thought it would be a good idea to wander off unsupervised," he looked round at his friends, "and we all know he inherited that particular defect from both of his parents!"

"Well, my Daniel, we must concede that Rodney does have a point there."

Daniel – and everyone else – agreed with Vala on that point, all remembering the times when one or both of them had gotten lost or untraceable on a mission. It was no wonder Sam had been too curious to resist the temptation of a new, alien city to explore when his chaperone had momentarily zoned him out.

Jensen managed to get a word in, "The location of the access point is also not far from where you said you lost track of Sam, Dr. McKay. I'd bet a $100 it's him."

"But there's no room or door there! The signal is coming from within solid wall!" Rodney bellowed, perplexed by the conundrum.

Daniel, who had grown tired of the discussion, raised his voice and said, "Right, well you can be confused when we go there," he pointed at the blip on the monitor, "let's go and check it out."

The leaders of the search teams left the other members behind and all headed off together to investigate the strange energy burst and mainframe access. The walk took about half an hour and no one but Rodney uttered a word. Daniel and Vala walked in silence as they worried for their eldest and overly curious child. Jennifer was using all her energy to lug a medical bag that weighed a ton. John was anxious about what Sam might find out about him by sifting through his personal records. Ronon was planning an attack in case there were enemies who needed to be neutralised. Rodney was rabbiting on about how there must be an error in the system because there simply couldn't be a room in Atlantis that he didn't know of, especially if the first person to set foot in it was a fifteen year old kid who had only been in Atlantis for a day. No one paid any heed to the physicist as he rambled on, no one ever really did.

"This is the spot." Rodney said when they reached a corridor that bore no signs of life or rooms. Rodney couldn't help but feel a little glad that he had been right all along, that there were no rooms here.

Vala had lost her stoic countenance and was banging on the walls around them, calling her son's name loudly. Daniel could only watch as he stood beside John and Ronon. Jennifer had expended her energy getting her medical kit to the place where Sam was meant to be and she was slumped against a wall.

"Holy cow!" Jennifer shrieked as something vaulted over her head.

Everyone turned to face her, Ronon having already aimed his gun at the body that had given Jennifer such a fright. Vala and Daniel sighed with relief as they recognised the scruffy black hair that was now adorning Jennifer's legs. John and Rodney laughed at the acrobatic exhibition that they had just caught the end of, as they had witnessed Sam tumble through the wall and fall haphazardly into Jennifer's lap headfirst.

Jennifer soon got past her initial shock at having a cumbersome teenager plop into her lap and her medical training took over. She examined the immobile body of Sam Jackson before she was convinced there was nothing much wrong with him on a base level, "He'll be fine. He'll probably come to in a second."

Sam could hear familiar voices. He tried once to open his eyes but his head was sore from leaving the console. He was resting on something soft though, but it came as a surprise when he realised that his makeshift pillow was also warm and moving.

"Sam? Sam, can you hear me?"

He recognised that voice, "Dr. McKay? That you?"

"That's right, Sam. I'm here with everyone, your mom, your dad, Rodney, John and Ronon, so do you think you can open your eyes?"

Sam slowly felt his eyelids rise and his eyes adjust to the brightness of the corridor, "Hi guys," he said faintly as he tried to get up, "what's going on?"

He watched as his mom and dad shared a look. A look that he knew meant that he was in trouble…big trouble.

"Samuel Neil Jackson," his mother said sternly, "do you have any idea how much trouble you are in? We've been frantic trying to find you and now you appear through walls with no doors."

Sam grumbled, "I get into trouble for the most idiotic things. I saw a door there and I will tell you why none of you can see it, but I have something I need first."

Jennifer suddenly looked anxious, worried he was hurt in some way, "What's wrong, Sam? What do you need?"

Sam smiled, "Well, actually, I'm rather hungry and I need a sandwich."

Everyone looked blankly at the teenager on the floor for a moment before they burst into raucous laughter, all very reassured that there was nothing out of order with the young man, other than an unfathomable sense of humour.


	6. The Leader of Atlantis

**Author's Note:**

First of all, many apologies for the lengthy delay in getting this chapter online, which happened because my laptop committed suicide on me! I know this story is labelled as a Vala & D. Jackson story, but this chapter is more of a Vala & J. Sheppard chapter, because as I said in the last chapter, they are my two favourite characters of the entire Stargate franchise and I was always curious how they would get on and talk if they were put together (not in a romantic way!). This chapter is also my way of providing some background of the last fifteen years for John and answers the question: where the hell is Teyla? Hope you enjoy it and please, please leave reviews!

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**Chapter VI – The Leader of Atlantis**

John had insisted that once Jennifer had conducted a full medical examination of Sam after his little adventure into the walls of his city, they all reconvene in the Weir room to discuss what happened and what it was that Sam was claiming would change their lives. All he could think was that it wasn't half ironic that it was the son of Vala Mal Doran and Daniel Jackson who had gotten into trouble on his second day off-world.

"Right, so Sam, why don't you start by telling us all what it was _exactly _that you found in the secret room?" John asked with a friendly smile.

Sam looked at his parents, seated on either side of him before beginning his tale, "Well, I was just looking around while Uncle Rodney was dealing with the stupid idiots."

"Hey!"

"Rodney!" Everyone else yelled back.

"Anyway, I told him I'd be just round the corner and I found this door. It seemed really old and looked as though no one had gone in since the Ancients were here and," he looked apologetically at his Uncle John, "well, I was curious so I went in."

"So, Jackson's kid is just like his old man," Rodney muttered with a sideward glance at Dr. Jackson, who was in turn eyeing him menacingly.

"There was this console-like thing in the middle of the room and I don't know, but there was like some force that was pulling me towards it that I couldn't resist, not that I wanted to. Then this bright light sort of engulfed me and I had access to _everything _in Atlantis: the historical records, personnel records, you name it, I could have gained access to it!" Sam said excitedly.

John nodded at Sam, who was still sporting a sheepish expression and faced everyone at the table, "What I don't get is how no one has discovered this room before. We've explored that area of the city profusely and come up with nothing, but Sam here," he gestured at Sam with frustration, "manages to stumble upon this hidden room within two days of arriving! It does not make me look good!"

Vala sniggered thinking of what the powers back on Earth would say when they read the report detailing how a fifteen year old kid managed to find another room whereas the commanding officer on Atlantis had announced two years previously that the Atlantis Expedition had finally completed their survey of the city. Poor John…

"It's actually not all that surprising, John, I mean we two," Rodney nodded at Daniel, "discovered Janus' lab that time years ago. It's clear from records we have of the Ancients that hidden rooms and passages were common in their society. It is strange that _I _haven't come across this room before. Sam, didn't you mention a name? The guy who built the damn thing?"

"Yeah, it's Na'Tano. I read that he was an Ancient who had a theory that the youth of Atlantis should be given complete access and control of the systems because the elders had cocked it-"

"Language, young man!" Vala exclaimed.

"Sorry, mom. The elders had _made mistakes_," Sam clarified, "so Na'Tano went behind their backs and set up a lab where he would more or less download the Ancients' databases into the minds of the children."

"Wait a minute!" Daniel yelled, "You've got entire databases in your head? That can't have been good."

Jennifer piped up, "Daniel, nothing showed up on the scans or x-rays to make me worry for him. I agree, though, that something that mind-altering should have left medical traces, but I'll be damned if I can find them."

"But all the times things went into my brain: the Ancients' other database, an entire ship's crew, there were always physical ramifications. How do we know that Sam is not being overrun by all the new stuff that's in his head?"

"It's not like there are separate personalities in his head, there's just been an extremely high amount of new information being processed. Theoretically, it should have made the brain shut down, but there must be some failsafe on the device to prevent the child's brain from completely giving up."

Vala, Daniel and John heaved a great sigh of relief. Indeed, Daniel uttered a silent prayer to deities everywhere thanking them and Na'Tano for ensuring that his device did not put his son through the same agony he had endured when he had interfaced with the Ancient terminal before.

Vala frowned, "But I still don't understand why Sam is the _only _one who can see the door? What's the use of having a door to your lab that you can't even see?"

Everyone turned suddenly to face Sheppard who guffawed loudly, shocked that he was finding humour in the present situation.

"Maybe it's because he's your son and he has a knack for finding valuable items!" John blurted.

Once the room had quietened back down again after everyone found John's observation hilarious – except for the mother in question – John regained his serious composure and surveyed the faces of his colleagues and friends, "Everyone, one thing I am sure of is that I want Sam under constant observation for at least the next twenty four hours," he looked apologetically at Jennifer, "regardless of what the tests say. I'm not taking any chances with this one."

Vala heard John's words with relief. In truth, she trusted Jennifer fully with Sam's care but she was always hesitant to believe that there was nothing wrong when the tests demonstrated otherwise. Luck like that just never happened to her or those she held dear and she knew that John shared that belief, so when she shot him a grateful glance, he returned it gladly with an understanding nod.

An idea leapt into John's head, "Daniel, Rodney, I would also like you to get some people together and go back down to the lab and see if you can get any readings off the wall, or in the general area that could lead to something, to see how the door works and what technology it is that means that only the young can see it."

With their orders given, they all rose from their seats and set about their business. Rodney and Daniel departed for Rodney's lab where he would select two of his 'idiots' to escort them down to the corridor that would be forever known as the place he had lost a teenager. Ronon slunk off to the commissary deciding that he felt hungry. Vala, John and Jennifer walked a disappointed Sam out of the briefing room in the direction of the observation cells.

Sam wanted to go with his dad down to the lab again but he knew that he had caused a lot of worry and angst when he had disappeared, so he didn't press the matter. He could see the tension in his mother and Uncle John's eyes. He wondered if they knew he had peeked into the personnel files. Also, in the light of his recent nightmares, his fears had been stirred up by the mention of twenty four hour surveillance. He knew it was only because Uncle John cared for him and didn't want anything to befall him but the necessity for such measures scared him.

"Don't worry, Sam, it'll all be fine. The tests came up with nothing, right?" Vala said with more assurance than she was truly feeling, "So, this is just a formality."

After leaving Sam in the observation room with Jennifer to get ready for what would be a very long day whether something went awry or not, Vala and John walked to the balcony that overlooked the south docking bay and the beautifully serene sea that surrounded the floating city.

While they took in the sight that John could never get enough of when he was in Atlantis, he looked at Vala and found it remarkable how resilient she was. They had always been close ever since SG-1 had come to Atlantis as a team for the first time. Then he had only known of her as the alien woman who had stolen an Air Force ship and prevented Daniel from making the voyage to Atlantis twice but after coming face-to-face with the mysterious and quirky woman with pigtails, he found her strangely alluring and pleasant. They had become fast friends after that and their friendship had remained constant over the past decade and a bit.

"He's some kid," John murmured, laughing lightly, "he takes after his parents. It makes me wonder what my daughter's like."

Vala looked at John with astonishment and sympathy, "Your daughter? John, you don't have children."

She wondered what her friend was talking about. She knew he had loved Elizabeth Weir dearly, but she had died before they really had a chance, not that she believed that Elizabeth would have ever acted on her underlying feelings for Colonel John Sheppard, not while the both of them dwelled in and commanded Atlantis. Then, there had been the Larrin incidents but when Larrin stole a large sum of money from the base and left John high and dry, he wiped that slate clean. Vala had no knowledge of John fathering a child.

John leant over the railing and stared down at the sea beneath them and sighed, "Vala, why do you think Teyla left?"

Vala couldn't find the power to draw a single breath. Teyla? John and Teyla were together? She tried to conceive how she could have possibly missed such a development between her friend and the woman who had been a significant contributor to the expedition's success, especially when she was normally so tuned in to the feelings and relationships of those she knew well.

John smiled as he took in her aghast and pensive expression, "Teyla and I hooked up for a short time after Larrin left. It was a mistake for both of us. She was still reeling from Kanaan's death and I didn't know what to do with myself. It was after the five of us got drunk one night watching Superbowl reruns and Teyla and I just went on and on about how we'd botched our lives up, then one thing led to another and a couple of months later she comes into my office crying because she was pregnant." He took a deep breath, "She didn't want to stay on Atlantis after she had the baby so she took Torren and our daughter, Deiana, away so that a child born with Teyla's abilities and my Ancient DNA would not be threatened in Atlantis."

"You're such a Kirk, John! Nearly a girl on every planet, like Daniel," Vala said playfully, delighting in her knowledge of Star Trek references, which Rodney and Daniel had taught her years ago. Rodney having called John 'Kirk' and then Jack o'Neill coming in and reminding a chuckling Daniel that he also had a propensity to acquaint himself with alien women on new planets, which made Vala drop her lunch as she doubled over with laughter.

Vala quickly stopped her raucous laughter when she noticed John's face fall and immediately repented her words. She laid her hand gently on his shoulder and smiling kindly, mouthed at him, "Sorry."

John pulled her in for a tight bear hug and then punched her teasingly on the arm, "No worries, Vala. She brings Deiana and Torren back from time to time, once every couple of months, but I haven't seen them in what seems like a long time and I miss both children and Teyla, everyone here does."

Vala felt relieved as she witnessed his good spirits return, "At least you'll have Sam here to keep you company, John. He simply adores you, drives me crazy at home, talking about you all the time."

John giggled, "He's a great kid and I love him to bits," John eyed Vala seriously for a moment, "and I won't let anything happen to him here, Vala, I promise. It's just such a good thing that Rodney and Carter figured out how to make ZPM's at long last, means we can all go back to Earth on a whim pretty much."

Hearing his words, Vala could sense the longing for his home world, but she knew that deep down he had found his true home – and heart – on Atlantis, much like she never considered her previous 'homes' as home now that she had spent time on Earth with Daniel, her children and her friends who had become a sort of extended family to her.

"Command suits you, John. Dr. Weir would have been proud of you." Vala said warmly.

John blinked his thanks for her sentiment but then his signature grin graced his face as he hooked his arm round her shoulders and drew her into his office to check on Sam, "Nah, she wouldn't, Vala. She'd have had my guts for garters for taking her damned job!"


	7. Vala's Family

**Chapter VII – Vala's Family**

"Hey kid, how are you doing? Heard you got yourself into a bit of a pickle…" Jacek's drawl echoed in the observation cell.

Sam huffed, "Hi, grandpa. Nothing's really wrong, just Uncle John, mom and dad being all extra careful."

"You are your parents' son, so that's not surprising, Sam." Tomin said kindly but with a lint in his eye.

"I wish everyone would quit saying that! I get it. I'm as unpredictable as mom and as accident-prone as dad." Sam grumbled.

Jacek leaned over and whispered in his wife's ear, "Unpredictability is clearly not the _only_ thing he inherited from Vala!"

While Sam was mildly interested in what his granddad was quietly murmuring to his grandma, he had begun to feel slightly off. He had been in the observation room for three hours and had not had so much as a fit of hiccups but suddenly, his head and stomach began to feel out of kilter. He raised his hand to his sweaty head and sensed a dull throb beneath his clammy brow. His other hand instinctively shifted to hold his belly, which felt as though it were the prison of a whirligig with so much turning and revolving as if his stomach were at sea and he on land.

"Gran-"

The three other occupants of the room watched in horror as the boy, whom they now observed was clutching both his head and midriff, slid from the bed and became detached from the medical equipment monitoring him which had begun to bleep gradually quicker and quicker. Tomin was the first to react. He lunged for the boy and just about caught him before his head collided with the hard floor.

"Adria, call Dr. McKay now! Medical emergency in Observation Cell A!" Tomin bellowed with an unfamiliar sense of urgency.

Tomin heaved the limp body of his ex-wife's son back onto the bed and heard Adria radio the CMO and saw Jacek hasten out of the room heading for the infirmary, attempting to accelerate the medical team's response. All Tomin knew to do was make sure someone stayed with the child and kept a firm grip on his wrist, monitoring Sam's pulse as it grew weaker.

The next few minutes occurred in a blur to all but the four medical personnel who arrived on the scene, including Jennifer McKay. Jennifer saw the sweat holding Sam's clothes to him and saw that one of his hands was resting just below his heart. After listening to his chest, Jennifer yelled firmly to her subordinate that they needed a sedative to calm him down, while explaining to Jacek, Tomin and Adria that Sam's heart was in danger of giving out if she didn't help.

"So, it's essentially heart failure?" Tomin asked.

Jennifer looked up with shock, "No, Tomin, not really. It's much more serious than that, as it's like a heart attack combined with heart failure."

That response stunned the non-medical occupants into dreary silence. Jacek walked slowly to the radio on the wall and instructed the desk technician to get everyone down to the infirmary who ought to be there.

While they waited for Vala and Daniel, Jennifer continued working on her patient, mumbling to herself, asking why nothing to predict this had shown up on the scans and how it was all too sudden and too random. Intermittently she glanced up at the cardiograph which told her nothing good but to hurry up. Tomin could just hear her curse under her breath and blame herself for what was happening to her charge and thanking God that John had insisted on the extra observation time that he had.

"Yes! Got you, you little devil!" Jennifer exclaimed happily, "I am not letting you go anywhere."

Just as she turned away from Sam, the doors flew ajar and Vala, Daniel, Rodney and Ronon stormed into the room. Vala had tears streaming down her fair cheeks and Daniel had lost all colour in his face. Rodney and Ronon looked a right pair, both looking equally as agitated but Rodney unfortunately was huffing and puffing a great deal more than the athletic, muscular man.

"Don't worry too much, guys," she said with a gentle smile, "he's just started to improve…a bit."

"What's wrong with him, Jen?" Rodney asked tentatively.

Jennifer sighed, pinching her nose, "The truth is I don't really know. Nothing showed up in any of the numerous tests we ran that would have possibly forecast this. All I can infer is that there is something putting intense strain on his heart and brain and most likely his other vital organs too, but the heart was the first to buckle. I'll have to conduct some more tests to see if I can get a more conclusive idea of what's actually going on in his body."

Vala and Daniel gravitated towards each other and Vala willingly let herself be enveloped in her husband's arms as she examined the unconscious form of her son, who was gravely ill and there was nothing she could do to help him. Daniel was quite tempted to join his wife in her tears, but he knew from experience that no good would come from him letting his emotions overwhelm him. He had to remain strong for appearance's sake, for Vala's sake…

There was one voice and presence that was lacking in the teeming observation cell, "Where the hell is John?" Daniel inquired almost angrily.

"He said he had an idea and ran in the opposite direction once we got the call about Sam." Ronon replied with a straight face.

Jennifer felt the tension in the room rise and began to usher everyone out of the observation room where she thought it best that her patient ought to remain. If John had somehow managed to construct a theory on what was wrong with the Jackson boy then so much the better for them.

"Radio General Sheppard," Rodney addressed a junior medic, "ask him to meet the rest of us in Dr. Jennifer McKay's office."

When everyone had convened in Jennifer's office, which was the biggest out of all the heads of staff on Atlantis, including John's, they got to talking seriously about what was occurring inside Samuel Jackson.

The room quietened immediately when an orderly entered bearing a tablet for Jennifer. When she read it in silence, her heart nearly bounded out of her chest, "Lord, give me strength."

Jennifer held her head in her hands as she resisted the urge to cry for the poor child in the room down the hall. She knew she couldn't indulge herself when the parents of said child were nervously awaiting news of their son.

"Jennifer, for God's sake, what is it?"

"He's reverting. The console generated some unknown radiation that has caused him to start growing younger instead of older." She responded with a heavy heart and matching expression.

Everyone was powerless as they took in the abysmal news. Vala felt as though her life was dwindling along with her child's as she plummeted to the floor, followed soon by Daniel who knelt beside her and held her as she sobbed uncontrollably. Jacek placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder for comfort and wondered why so much pain and strife befell his only child and those whom she held in her heart.

"I suspect," Jennifer elaborated, "that the medical complications we are seeing in Sam are a result of his being a normal human child with no traces of Ancient DNA or physiology in his system. An Ancient child would be able to cope with the influx of complex information and processes, but for a human boy," she stuttered, "it's life-threatening. It'll kill him in less than a day unless we figure something out that will be able to stop it."

Rodney walked round and placed his hands gently on his wife's shoulders and announced with surety, "Less than twenty four hours? For Dr. Rodney McKay, that's not a problem, he'll be fine."

"Yeah, yeah, we get it. Dr. Rodney McKay is the world's biggest genius and ass!" John said as he strode into the nicer (in his and everyone's opinion) Dr. McKay's office.

"Hope you've got some good news, Sheppard, otherwise we're all going to need therapy." Ronon muttered sarcastically.

John slapped his friend on the back as he passed him to perch on Jennifer's desk, "Indeed I do. When I heard that Sam had collapsed and that his organs were exhibiting similar signs to what Rodney went through when a device altered his DNA making him super-smart. Not a word, Rodney!" John advised, foreseeing his friend's interruption, "Anyway, the process began to kill him and I realised then why the machine is forcing Sam to age backwards. Sam misunderstood the true purpose of the device. It is meant to allow minors to gain full access of the city's databases and mainframe but not just to use but also to learn from it. I suspect that the device wasn't actually _ever_ used as such, it's more of Na'Tano's experiment."

"An experiment? How can you be sure?" Daniel queried, rising from his position next to Vala on the floor.

"Because I think that's what all the hush-hush is in aid of," John pointed out as he leant on the cold table, "I don't think Na'Tano was ever supposed to have made the device, let alone used it, so I believe our Sam is the first one to have ever interacted with the machine. The other thing I think I've got figured out is that the reason the device has caused some serious reversion is that he's too old."

When everyone saw the smug smile creep onto John's face, each and every one of them were confused but Ronon asked gruffly, "What's got you so stoked?"

John turned to him with a wink, "I'm just proud I worked something out before Rodney."

Once the consequent laughter had subsided, Rodney gestured for his commanding officer and friend to explain just what it was he had managed to deduce before his immensely smarter coworker.

"The reason why Sam is ageing backwards is because he's too old, meaning that The Book of Na'Tano is aware that earlier was the first time Sam was hooked up to the device. Sam being fifteen and registering physically as almost an adult male means that he has begun his 'reeducation' too late, thus the machine is trying to turn back time so that its user is young enough to be able to benefit fully from the device." John finished and looked at the abject horror reflected in the eyes and faces of his friends.

Jennifer picked up the line of inquiry, "So the device is attempting to manipulate his body making him ill, but it thinks its doing him a favour but because he's a human teenager, The Book of Na'Tano is killing him."

Daniel peered at his old friends and pleaded, "Well, now we've established what is going on with the device and the body of my son, can we please turn our attentions to the effort to _fix _the deageing before Sam dies?"


	8. The Genius of McKay

**Author's Note:**

I know it's been a while since my last update and for that I humbly apologise. I have been moving around the country like public transport. After this, there are only two more chapters so I hope all you readers will stick around and leave me some last reviews. It's been so much fun writing my first ever sequel and its predecessor but I look forward to returning to some of my other stories which suffered in response to my enthusiasm for my Stargate writing!

* * *

**Chapter VIII – The Genius of McKay**

The inhabitants of Atlantis had been all aflutter since the deterioration of Sam Jackson, with each and every one of them doing their part to help better the dire situation of the young boy whose life now dangled over an endless abyss. Rodney had become even more unbearable to his staff than he was normally. He immersed himself in his task of analysing the area surrounding the hidden chamber of Na'Tano. Since he could not gain access to the elusive room, he had to stumble about on its threshold, which yielded limited results.

"Thank God! Finally!" Rodney exclaimed with elation.

The sea of subordinates parted as their leader hastened from the corridor and headed for the Weir room without a word to his team. Rodney was in raptures at his newest brilliant discovery, which was a step in the right direction and that was something that they had not been granted since Sam's arrival in the Pegasus galaxy.

"John! John!" Rodney bellowed.

"What?!" The leader of the expedition replied with equal agitation, "What's the matter, McKay?"

"I've got something," he proffered his tablet, "See this, here, this continuous pulse. It is being produced by something in the room; I suspect by The Book of Na'Tano itself. It's even detectable here so I bet it is going as far as – shall we say – Observation Room A, where Sam is currently ageing backwards."

John examined the data shown on the handheld computer and was inclined to agree with his friend's hypothesis, however, he had misgivings about the ramifications of such a find, "Rodney, I agree that the radioactivity and Sam's condition may be linked, but how do you suggest that we deactivate the console when Sam is near catatonic and nobody here can see or enter the room?"

"Hmm," Rodney frowned, "I haven't quite worked that out yet, but come on, John! Progress is progress!"

"Yes, yes, very well done, Rodney," John clapped with heavy sarcasm, "but the next step of a cunning plan would be much appreciated by all."

Rodney rolled his eyes at John's sly reference to British comedy, for which they both shared a passion, but slapped his commanding officer on the back hard as an idea sprang to mind, "I've got it. I think I can create a relatively simple radio wave that will enable adults to enter the room along with Sam, who has to be in lab to be 'cured', so all we need to is get Sam and the Jacksons and get back to the laboratory."

After a brief meeting with the other Dr. McKay, John, Rodney and Jennifer walked briskly to Vala and Daniel's quarters where they found the couple sitting sullenly on the bed, Daniel trying to read a book and Vala fiddling with her wedding ring.

En route, Jennifer took her husband's hand in hers and whispered in his ear, "If this works, you'll be getting an early birthday present," she uttered with a coy wink.

"If what works?" Vala inquired blankly as the trio entered her room.

Jennifer blushed as Rodney stuttered, "My ingenious and infallible plan to save Sam and solve the problem of Na'Tano's lab."

Everyone grinned as they witnessed happy and overjoyed expressions return to the worrying parents of the critically ill child. John explained the essence of Rodney's strategy, much to the delight of Daniel, who knew well that Rodney's plans came to fruition much more frequently than Sheppard's plans did and Vala, who was merely jubilant at the development of any plan, which had a vague tone of certainty, that had the potential to lead to her son's restoration to health.

"Screw her early birthday present, Rodney," Vala said, with a cheeky smile that promised no good for the physicist, "If this plan of yours works, I'll give you that early birthday present!"

While everyone else shifted about uncomfortably at Vala's remark, John and Daniel shared a knowing and John nudged him and said, "Now, there's an image that _none_ of us _ever_ wanted to have ingrained into our minds."

As they all made their way to retrieve Sam, Daniel – unable to look at his wife in a serious light – asked John with a distinct curiosity, "What is it about Rodney McKay that makes women go insane and promise to do strange and nasty things to him?"

"I have no clue, Jackson," John snorted, "I've known the supercilious git for years and women are just drawn to him. God knows why, though."

"Supercilious?" Daniel questioned as they reached the door of Sam's room, preventing the General from being told that he spent way too much time in the company of Dr. McKay, as years ago, John Sheppard wouldn't have even been aware of the existence of the word 'supercilious' (in spite of apparently being eligible for Mensa).

After only a few minutes wait, Rodney was able to detect the energy signature acting as a luring device for Sam and interfere with it using a basic radio wave, revealing the door to the adults accompanying the gurney with the body of Sam appearing to peacefully slumber on it.

Jennifer was the first to attempt entry into the forbidden laboratory, but was abruptly hurled away from the door and collided forcefully with the opposite wall with a unquestionable crunch.

"Jennifer!" Rodney yelled as he shook his wife's unconscious body, "Shit! Medical team to south-east Atlantis, Dr. McKay has been knocked against a wall hard and is now unresponsive."

"Why did that happen?" Vala asked, rubbing her friend's hand.

Rodney diverted his attention from his wife momentarily to answer Vala, "I don't know…there must be some sort of coding on the door. Jennifer's not a child, nor is she Na'Tano, so she wasn't permitted to enter."

"Rodney, I know you're worried about Jen," John advised cautiously, "but the medics will be here in minutes and you need to work out a way for us to get into the lab along with Sam, despite being significantly too old."

Rodney grumbled about being wrested from his wife's side, but he knew John was in the right and he had to try and help Sam. Within a few minutes – proving that impossible is not so for the infamous Dr. McKay – he had formulated a plan, "Right, what we need to do is touch Sam, as I've only managed to alter the door's configuration, not completely overwrite it, so it'll let us through as once we come into contact with Sam's skin, I've made the door think we're all clones of him."

John mouthed his gratitude at his old friend for not debating the urgency of the situation and relinquishing his place at his sweetheart's side for his current place gripping Sam's immobile leg as they all readied themselves to step through the portal to Na'Tano's elusive laboratory.

Once they had all set foot in the strange place, each of them could clearly see why Sam had sounded as though he had been truly entranced and captivated by the console, which was glowing with an ethereal beauty, which none of them could escape and all forgot they wished to eliminate the faint glow of the central console.

"It's my fault," Vala whispered to Daniel sporting a regretful and apologetic smile, "it's entirely my fault that he was drawn so to The Book. Everyone's right. If he hadn't have inherited my stupid inquisitiveness, he'd have never been hurt," she said stroking a stray lock of Sam's hair and was reminded of another whose hair she had stroked similarly who had been taken from her, but she would not lose another child, not again.

Daniel moved beside his wife and embraced her, putting the notion of her culpability in their son's predicament right out of her mind. He was not prepared to have her engulf herself in blame, especially not now when there was every chance that their son's grim predicament would be imminently resolved.

As they wheeled Sam towards the device, Daniel marvelled that the text that sprang from its hub immediately translated into fluent English, but before he had the chance to remark on the gravity of such an impressive find, he and the rest of his friends found themselves sprawled on the floor, watching in fear as an electric blue ray engulfed the gurney bearing Sam and shrouded him in its blinding light.

Rodney, meanwhile, managed to reach the command keys and found that he knew what to do, "I'm going to interface the tablet with the console and I'll get it to restore him!" Rodney shouted, as the console was beginning to produce a loud, throbbing alarm.

The bystanders watched with bated breath as once Rodney completed his processes, the irritating din came to an immediate halt and the light shielding Sam from view changed colour to a pale pink for the briefest of moments before disappearing and the room was left lit only by the faint lights of the surrounding machines and silent as the grave.

Vala dropped to the floor in relief as the figure on the gurney sat up and turned to face John, asking him with a smile, "Where am I?"

Sam was utterly bewildered by the strange behaviour of everyone with him, for instead of answering his simple enquiry, all the adults did was look at each other blankly and then descend into hysterical laughter.

"Dad?"

Daniel could not answer his son, crippled by laughter as he was. It was typical, typical of his son that he had nearly died, but remembered none of it really and was seemingly unshaken by the entire ordeal. Daniel was relieved that all of his friends appeared to also be so relieved by Sam's recuperation and blissful ignorance that they too were rendered unable to utter a word in response to the baffled teenager as they all doubled over with laughter.

John was the first to gain control of his hysteria, "Come on, kid, let's get out of here."

Sam happily jumped off the gurney and headed out of the door of the lab which he recognised after looking closer at it. He flinched as he was fleetingly blinded by the deceptive bright light of the corridor, but then was greeted by a warm hug from someone whom he did not get a chance to identify.

"Thank God, Sam, you gave us all such a fright!" Jennifer's Canadian drawl exclaimed as her arms wrapped around the slender form of the fifteen year old.

"Hey, Aunt Jennifer," Sam mumbled almost inaudibly, as his words were muffled by her chest pressing against his face, "Aunt Jen, you're squashing me!"

Jennifer hastily released the boy and gestured to her team to provide her with her medical kit, "I'd best run a quick scan and just check you out."

Everyone else poured out of the door to the lab where none of them – except Rodney – wanted to return in the near future while Jennifer conducted her scan with her favourite handheld scanner that had aided her so much in the past. Rodney had breathed a loud sigh of relief to see his beloved wife back on her feet and doing her job so quickly after her injury and performing the task at hand with a gleeful smile.

"His systems are healing and he appears to be returning to normal," Jennifer pronounced, rising from her position at Sam's feet, "he should be feeling completely his old self in just over an hour."

Vala's mood over the past few minutes had done nothing but soar higher and higher, but with Jennifer's final prognosis, she was with the Gods. Her son was going to make a full recovery and that news prompted her to shout, "Group hug!"

Usually, the group would regard Vala's more childish notions with exasperation, but in keeping with the elation of the present, no one had the heart to rain on her parade, so everyone fell in for a group hug, creating an ersatz 'Sam Jackson sandwich'.

"Sam, just be happy you didn't inherit my minor food allergies," Vala sniggered, "or you'd be intolerably hazardous!"

Everyone released and started a much lighter-hearted journey back to the main tower of Atlantis, with McKay protesting, "Vala, I have allergies and I'm not a safety hazard! I'm – in fact – a complete delight and distinguished scientist and I'm still alive."

While she thought no one would hear over their raucous laughter, Jennifer whispered to Rodney, "Hey, your plan worked so the genius scientist will get a reward later tonight…"

"If the 'distinguished scientist' likes, I'll even join in to thank you," Vala whispered jokily in Rodney's other ear.

Rodney appeared to be having a coronary. Everyone else was highly amused and freely laughing at the scientist's expense. Sam paled at his coquettish mother's behaviour with his uncle. Everything had returned to normal on Atlantis.


	9. The Tree

**Author's Note:**

I had intended to write and post this chapter much faster than I have, but I had another unfortunate week where I developed tonsillitis and cheilitis within 24 hours of each other and I was in no mood to write, however, here this chapter finally is, so enjoy!

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**Chapter IX – The Tree**

Sam had mellowed on the trek back to his quarters, so much so that Vala and Daniel had to pretty much put him to bed similar to the way they did when he was of an age to be snugly tucked into bed by his mom and dad. When he fell asleep like a baby, he had a curious habit of making a catlike snoring sound, which caused Vala and Daniel to shoot each other a loving glance, amused by the sweetly slumbering kitten they had brought into the world.

"Come, Vala. He's sound asleep now," Daniel said softly, "let's leave him be and go join the others."

His wife gave him a nod and delicately removed herself from her child's side and left the room arm in arm with her husband, gliding in the direction of the commissary where their closest friends and family were awaiting them.

"How's he doing?" John asked them as they set foot in the room.

"Peachy," Vala replied, "almost as if his life hadn't have been in danger until half an hour ago. The kid thinks he's just been on the best adventure ever, I should think. He gets that from me."

"Honey, do you want a drink?"

Vala tugged Daniel down to sit beside her, "In a while," she pouted, "for now, let's just sit and relax a bit."

They joined John, Rodney, Jennifer and Ronon, who had been sparring when Rodney's master plan had come to light, eliminating him from that particular plan's development and execution. They took a brief moment to settle, but after the initial awkwardness and relief had dissipated, none of them could resist the urge to laugh uncontrollably at another positive end for a Stargate mission.

"How are the twins doing these days?" Jennifer asked good-heartedly.

"Oh, they're doing marvellously. They are getting cuter and cuter with each day. Soon, they'll be reading ancient Greek and speaking fluent Ancient. Amanda is so cheerful and upbeat that she's becoming quite the bubbly little darling," a glow seemed to emanate from Vala as she spoke about her daughters, "and Jennifer is quite like her namesake. A sweeter girl is not to be found, or one so devoted to her father. She's the daddy's girl of the two."

Ronon clapped Daniel on the back, "Nice one, at least one of your kids will grow up on your side!"

"I plan on converting her, you know," Vala retorted with a wink to Daniel, "she'll not stay his sweetheart for long."

Daniel histrionically raised his hand to his brow, "Oh please, thou ebony-haired lady, wilt thou not leave me not one of my children to be my own?"

Vala pretended to think but shook her head with a wink at her melodramatic husband. She just felt fortunate to understand the time-honoured English he was addressing her in, as when she arrived on Earth, such words would have rendered her quite bemused, but since her unexpected arrivals, she had been educated by Daniel and others at Stargate Command in aspects of Earth's culture, which included a lesson on the works of Chaucer, Shakespeare and Byron.

"What's the matter with you two?" John asked sharply, suspiciously regarding the McKays.

"Well," Rodney began hesitantly, "actually, Jennifer and I have some news about our kids and us and well, all you Atlantis folks…no offence, Vala, Daniel."

Everyone regarded the couple with suspicion, except John, who now understood to what his old friend was referring, but he elected to remain quiet and allow his friends the pleasure of sharing their new good news with the group themselves.

"We put in a petition, around the time when all the effort was going on to allow Sam to spend some time Pegasus-side. It made the both of us think that if the SGC officers permitted Sam to come here, then maybe, just maybe, we could get our children out here too. An hour ago, we received word that tomorrow, when Vala and Daniel return to Earth, we can accompany them and after a short while, we can return," Rodney paused to smirk at his wife, "with our boys."

Everyone instantly rose from their seats to clap the male McKay on the back with hearty words of congratulation and hug the female McKay with just as much gusto.

"Madison and Jeannie will be heartbroken." Jennifer said, trying to be apologetic but under the elation of her and Rodney's news, she couldn't quite manage to muster the sympathy for her sister-in-law and niece.

"Jeannie will be happy for you two," Vala announced kindly, "but Madison will be quite disheartened that her cousins and aunt and uncle will be living in another galaxy, but we'll take the twins round for her amusement."

"Talking of Earth reminds me," John interrupted, "Daniel?"

Daniel chuckled and reached for his bag, feeling the gaze of Ronon and John who were both observing him expectantly, waiting for the 'Earth treats' that Daniel had brought for them.

"Here they are, guys," Daniel said, passing them a black fabric case, "for your delectation…eighty hours of football tapes and a few of ice hockey, in case you fancy some other sporty rubbish."

"Nice one, Jackson," Ronon intimated blankly.

John, who had managed to get a peek into Daniel's knapsack thought he had espied some Budweiser but thought he was suffering from hallucinations, as there was no way anyone managed to keep liquor concealed from him in his city, especially beer straight from home. He was growing weary of drinking the still unrefined crap that was produced by the city's distillery and brewery, which had been requested four years ago.

"I wish we didn't have to go back tomorrow. It seems like we didn't get any proper time here at all, just enough time to chase Sam around and then fix him." Vala murmured sadly.

"Hey," Jennifer exclaimed brightly, "at least your son has made his first major scientific and off-world discovery. That's quite something."

"Also, if he carries on making discoveries at the rate he's currently on, I'll have to watch my back because he'll have both Rodney and me out of our jobs in a few years!" John blurted.

Daniel felt moved by the leader of Atlantis' praise of his son's capabilities, which he knew John exaggerated to show how proud he was of his favourite out of his friends' kids, but nevertheless, Daniel appreciated the intent and affection behind the commendation of his son to his and Vala's face, so he bent down to his bag once more and pulled from it two cases of beer.

"How?" John stuttered as he watched Daniel reveal the beer to raucous applause.

"Don't ask," Daniel said, to the pleasant accompaniment of the cans of beer opening around him, "just get ready for a toast. God knows today deserves a toast."

"Hear, hear!" Vala and John roared, raising their cans to their friends, who returned the gesture.

"Here's to Atlantis!" John bellowed.

"Here's to home!" Jennifer cried.

"Here's to my first published paper in over a decade!"

"Here's to guns!"

Everyone looked at Ronon with exasperation at his toast, but it was to be expected.

"Here's to family!" Daniel exclaimed with a look to Vala.

Suddenly there was silence, which felt unsettling after the plethora of toasts. Everyone turned to face the noticeably taciturn final member of their closely knit assembly who had neglected to utter a toast.

"Vala?" Rodney questioned, "The tradition is that you also make a toast…"

The woman in question scoffed at Rodney's lack of understanding at her pregnant and intentional pause. After nearly witnessing her son's death and the devastation of seeing him deteriorate and then the immediate and winding sensation of seeing him totally restored to health within seconds, she wanted to toast to something that truly meant something to her, as her friends had done, which was a task that deserved the correct amount of deliberation.

"Honey," Daniel mumbled, taking her hand in his, "are you all right?"

"Here's to all of you." Vala said with a radiant smile on her face and a raised can in her firm grip.


	10. The Apple

**Author's Note:**

It is the final chapter! This is it, so thank you all for reading and especially my gratitude goes out to those of you who reviewed. I hope you've enjoyed this little insight into Daniel and Vala's future and the character of Sam as much as I have enjoyed writing about them. Do follow me as I have no plans to quit writing fanfiction any time soon so you might enjoy reading some of my other stories. Finally, I wish everyone a lovely Easter break on this Good Friday!

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**Chapter X – The Apple**

A young boy awoke from a sound night's sleep to the bizarre sensation of a weight across his midriff and a similar one, but quite a bit heavier across his legs. He grinned as he glanced down towards his feet noticing two horizontal, serenely slumbering figures draped across him. He would have normally freaked out and told his mom that he was too old at the ripe old age of fifteen to have his parents sleep in the same room as him, but he was aware of the world and its dangers enough to know that the strain of his…indisposition had drained his parents as well as himself and it was an arduous time for his parents, who had been conscious throughout, whereas Aunt Jen had had the good sense to let him remain a vegetable.

As he was considering kicking them awake, he realised that they would be departing Atlantis very shortly and the thought filled him with a sudden sense of foreboding and apprehension. He had only spent – really spent – one day on Atlantis and he had managed to wreak havoc. That had occurred whilst his parents were still there, so he remained anxious at the thought of what might happen in his parents' absence.

"No, no, stop tickling me," Vala shouted, still fast asleep, "Daniel, stop it!"

Vala's talking had roused her husband, who had grown accustomed to being awakened in such a fashion after many years of sharing the same bed, but Sam was quite taken aback by the door he was permitted into his mother's dreams. It was one he was not sure that he quite wanted to be able to walk through…

"Vala, Vala," Daniel said firmly, prodding his wife, "sweetheart, wake up."

Sam laughed as his dad attempted to stir his mom from her evidently gripping dream and soon, all three members of the Jackson family were rolling around together on Sam's bed gripped in the hold of laughter.

It was the mother who first stopped laughing, "I'm so glad," she took a gasp for breath, as their antics had been too much early morning exercise for the woman who had managed to retain her slender figure despite three children, "that you're well again, Sam. You're just like your father in that respect. In the way you both come back from near-death experiences like a boomerang."

Daniel's previously jovial expression resisted the urge to completely turn sour, but his face still reflected some dissipation of his good humour, "We do not discuss _that _day, Vala."

"Sorry, sorry!" Vala shrieked, raising her hands in surrender, "I'm sorry I mentioned it. I was taken up in the moment. Truce?"

"Wait a second," Sam interjected before his dad could answer his mom's request, "What day are you talking about?"

"A topic for another day…" Vala said.

"Vala!" Daniel yelled, "There will _never _be a day when we tell the kids about _that_ day!"

Sam immediately felt tense as he saw the ill-hidden glance of apprehension between his mom and dad. His parents barely ever fought, or looked angry or even mildly irritated with each other, so seeing them at odds felt oddly discomforting, especially when he was about to embark on a long stay the furthest away from home he would ever go.

"Sam," Daniel mumbled, noticing his son's change of expression, "I know you're scared, or at least nervous about staying here on your own, but I don't want you to think that you are on your own, Sam. You have John, Ronon, Jen and Rodney and a whole load of other people who care about you here who are going to look after you when we go home and look after your sisters."

"They also all know what your parents are like so they'll be extra careful and you'll always get the benefit of the doubt because any mistake you might make," Vala frowned, "not that you will make any, everyone will just blame it on your dad and me."

"That reminds me," Daniel piped up with a wide grin, "you'd better email home at least every other day, otherwise I'll start emailing round really embarrassing photos of you to my entire inbox."

The family of three rolled around laughing at Daniel's empty threat, but when Vala started weeping profusely on account of too much laughter, Daniel pulled her into his lap and embraced her until she calmed down.

Sam merely flung himself back down on the bed, utterly exhausted from the hysterical laughing and mumbled to himself, "I love it when he teases me..."

Unbeknownst to Sam, Vala managed to hear him with her Vulcan hearing and her crying commenced with much more gusto than before, "Oh, sweetheart, come here," Vala whispered breathlessly, removing herself from her husband's lap to pull her son into her own.

He was initially surprised by the jerky movement of being more or less hoisted into his mother's lap, but once he felt and heard the renewal of her sobs, this time not in severe joy, he loosened himself from her strong grip so he could bring his hand up to her moist face and wipe the tears from her cheeks.

Daniel, amazed by the intimate moment he had the honour to witness between mother and son, just observed as they hugged, "Vala, honey, at least he'll be back at the end of the summer and then you'll be wishing that he go back to Atlantis when he leaves his laundry lying around the place."

"That's true." Vala chuckled lightly.

An announcement came through the room's speakers calling them to the gate room, where they were all greeted by a sea of their friends. Daniel went over to John, who extended his hand the way he always did when saying goodbye to someone about to step across the threshold of the Stargate.

"Hey, Jackson, we all, I mean everyone here wondered if you would take these back to the SGC," John said hesitantly, handing Daniel three USB sticks, "they'll know what to do about them. They're video messages for people at home, so make sure you deliver them."

Daniel looked at the memory sticks in his hand and clutched them hard, fully understanding the invaluable nature of what he held and glanced over at his wife who was taking a package from Jennifer with a sad smile on her face.

"It's something for my dad," Jennifer whispered, "Rodney and I won't get the chance to go to Wisconsin so I need you to see that this gets to my dad for me, Vala."

"Sure, no problem, we'll take a road trip to give it to him in person." She replied with a comforting smile and a pat on the hand.

"Daniel, Vala," John said gravely as Vala approached, "we'll look after him here. Nothing…else will happen to Sam. In fact, he'll probably be so bored in a week's time that he'll want to go back to Earth for some crappy summer camp with all his friends."

The departing parents sniggered at John's humorous prediction of their child's attitude to staying in the Pegasus galaxy over the summer, before being called to their next well-wishers who turned out to be Vala's father, stepmother and ex-husband.

"It's been a busy couple of days for you, darling," Jacek said to his daughter, still enveloped in his arms.

"I know, dad, I know," she smiled back, "maybe when Sam comes home, you guys can come too and spend some time with us and your grandkids outside of work and on Earth."

Daniel moved over to Ronon, who was standing sullenly beside John, trying not to show his true forlornness at their leaving as he always did, "Not going to show any feeling that your favourite guy and girl are going home?"

"No."

John scoffed and elbowed the burly man at his right hand, "Ronon, come on, we talked about this: expressing yourself like a normal, functional, feeling human being."

"Fine, I will miss you, yada, yada, yada, I will teach the kid well and I'll see you around, Jackson."

"Just don't beat my son up too much, okay?" Daniel asked with a jokey smirk.

"I'll treat him as if he was McKay." Ronon promised, recalling Rodney's first combat session where he turned up wearing the stupidest clothes ever known to mankind.

"He's not that bad!" Vala protested stridently, taking offence at Ronon's implying that any son of hers could be as hopeless a fighter as Rodney McKay.

"It's 11:20am, we are dialling the gate."

As the gate whirred and the wormhole formed, Vala and Daniel hugged their son goodbye and said their goodbyes to their friends. Jennifer and Rodney prepared to leave Atlantis with the Jacksons to return in two days' time with the remainder of their family to stay in the Pegasus galaxy for good. Within seconds of them all stepping through the event horizon backwards, they were back on Earth and being welcomed back by the staff at Stargate Command.

"Finally!" Sam exclaimed with a playful punch to Sheppard's arm.

While Sam headed out of the gate room for the gym, John became sarcastically outraged, "Hey, kid, nobody punches me! I'm the Leader of the Atlantis Expedition!"

"Mom says people hit you all the time, so why can't I?" Sam asked as John followed Ronon and him to the gym.

John chuckled noisily, "God," he huffed, "the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree at all!"


End file.
